The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered an estate in the Lokogoma District of Abuja, housing 753 units of duplexes and other apartments.
The recovery, according to the commission, is its single largest asset recovery since its establishment in 2003.
A statement posted on the commission’s X handle on Monday said the estate was forfeited in a ruling by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie.
“The forfeiture of the property to the Federal Government by a former top brass of the government was pursuant to EFCC’s mandate and policy directive of ensuring that the corrupt and fraudulent do not enjoy the proceeds of their unlawful activities,” the statement said.
Justice Onwuegbuzie held that the ex-government official had not shown cause as to why he should not lose the property “which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. The property is hereby finally forfeited to the Federal Government.”
The EFCC noted that the respondent is under investigation, aalleging that the estate was built with proceeds from fraudulent activities.
“The forfeiture of the asset is an important modality of depriving the suspect of the proceeds of the crime,” it added.
The commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, described asset recovery as key in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes and “a major disincentive against the corrupt and the fraudulent.”
“If you understand the intricacies involved in financial crimes investigation and prosecution, you will discover that to recover one billion naira is war. So, I told my people that the moment we start an investigation, we must also start asset tracing because asset recovery is pivotal in the anti-corruption fight; and one of the potent instruments that you can deploy as an anti-corruption agency for an effective fight is asset tracing and recovery.
“If you allow the corrupt or those you are investigating to have access to the proceeds of their crime, they will fight you with it. So, one of the ways to weaken them is to deprive them of the proceeds of their crime. So, our modus operandi has changed simultaneously. The moment we begin an investigation, we begin asset tracing. That was what helped us to make our recoveries.
“The recovery of the asset represents a milestone in the annals of operations of the EFCC and infallible proof of the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the anti-corruption war,” the statement added.
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